Tuning fork shaped crystal oscillator and method of fabrication thereof

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a tuning fork shaped oscillator, an angular velocity sensor element, and an angular velocity sensor with improved breaking strength with respect to CI and drive power, CI stability, and frequency stability. The present invention relates to a tuning fork shaped crystal oscillator of a configuration wherein two tuning fork shaped crystal elements that have been formed by wet etching during the process of forming the external shape of a tuning fork, in such a manner that the longitudinal direction of the tuning fork is aligned on the Y-axis of the crystalline axes (XYZ) and also the lateral direction thereof is aligned on the X-axis, are bonded together with the ±X-axis directions thereof oriented in opposite directions; and the right side surface of each of the two tuning fork shaped crystal elements is the +X face of the crystal when the two tuning fork shaped crystal elements are viewed in an upright attitude.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a crystal oscillator in the shape of atuning fork, an angular velocity sensor element, an angular velocitysensor, and a method of fabricating a tuning fork shaped crystaloscillator, and, in particular, to an angular velocity sensor elementand a method of fabrication thereof.

Angular-velocity sensor elements are used in applications such asvehicle guidance systems and devices for preventing camera shake. Thepresent applicants have already applied for a Japanese patent for anangular velocity sensor element obtained by using direct bonding toattach two tuning fork shaped crystal elements.

A perspective view of a prior-art example of an angular velocity sensorelement is shown in FIG. 7.

This angular velocity sensor element is provided with a composite tuningfork shaped crystal element 1 obtained by attaching two tuning forkshaped crystal elements 1 a and 1 b by direct bonding, as shown in FIG.7. The width of each of the tuning fork shaped crystal elements 1 a and1 b is arranged on the X-axis of the crystalline axes (XYZ) of thecrystal, with the length thereof on the Y-axis and the thickness thereofon the Z-axis. When one of these tuning fork shaped crystal elements 1 aand 1 b is viewed in an upright attitude, the negative direction alongthe X-axis is to the right-hand side and the positive direction thereofis to the left-hand side. In other words, the −X face of the crystalthat is orthogonal to the −X-axis direction is taken to be theright-side surface of the tuning fork shaped crystal. The tuning forkshaped crystal elements 1 a and 1 b are bonded together with the ±X-axisdirections thereof oriented in opposite directions.

When the composite tuning fork shaped crystal element 1 is fabricated,two Z-cut crystal wafers 2 a and 2 b are first bonded together directly,with the ±X-axis directions thereof oriented in opposite directions.Etching masks 3 as shown in FIG. 8 in the shape of a tuning fork arethen formed on the front and rear of this directly bonded compositecrystal wafer 2. These etching masks 3 are formed in such a manner thatthe right-hand direction (as seen when the composite tuning fork shapedcrystal elements 1 that will be formed later are stood upright) isarrayed along the −X-axis direction. The composite crystal wafer 2 isthen selectively etched by wet etching, to obtain a large number of thecomposite tuning fork shaped crystal elements 1 (which will becomeangular velocity sensor elements).

An electrode for driving the tuning fork in resonance is provided oneach of the tines of the tuning fork of the angular velocity sensorelement, in order to detect the Coriolis force imposed thereon. In thiscase, a surface electrode 6 a on one tine of the tuning fork (on theright-hand side in the linkage diagram of FIG. 9) and a rear-surfaceelectrode 7 b on the other tine of the tuning fork (the left-hand sidein FIG. 9) are connected in common and lead out to a first driveterminal D1. Similarly, a rear-surface electrode 6 b on the other tineof the tuning fork leads out to a second drive terminal D2.

Electrodes 6 c and 7 c on the inner side surfaces of the two tines ofthe tuning fork are connected together, electrodes 6 d and 7 d on theouter side surfaces thereof are also connected together, and theseconnections lead out to first and second sensor terminals S1 and S2,respectively. A surface electrode 7 a on the other tine of the tuningfork leads out to a monitor terminal M as shown in FIG. 9.

A schematic configurational diagram of a prior-art example of an angularvelocity sensor is shown in FIG. 10. The angular velocity sensor shownin FIG. 10 is formed of an oscillation circuit 8 connected to the firstand second drive terminals D1 and D2, to excite the tuning fork intoresonance; charge amplifiers 9 a and 9 b and a differential amplifier 10connected to the sensor terminals S1 and S2, to amplify the electricalcharge due to the Coriolis force; a synchronization detection circuit 11that detects the amount of electrical charge due to the Coriolis forcefrom the differential amplifier 10; a low-pass filter 12 that obtains aDC voltage that is a smoothed output from the synchronization detectioncircuit 11 in response to angular velocity (a detected angle ofrotation); a charge amplifier 9 c connected to the monitor terminal M,to amplify the electrical charge due to the resonance of the tuningfork; and an automatic gain control (AGC) circuit 13 that fixes theamplitude of the tuning fork's resonance in accordance with themagnitude of the thus amplified electrical charge. Note that thesynchronization frequency for the synchronization detection circuit 11is supplied from the monitor terminal M in this case. The electricalcharge caused by the Coriolis force is detected by the thus-configuredangular velocity sensor, to reliably determine the angle of rotationthereof.

However, the angular velocity sensor element of this prior-art exampledoes not have a favorable configuration from the viewpoints of improvingthe crystal impedance (hereinafter abbreviated to CI) when acting as atuning fork shaped oscillator, and the breaking strength, frequencystability, and CI stability with respect to the drive power (in otherwords, the drive level characteristics thereof), as well as theuniformity between elements.

The problems with the angular velocity sensor element of this prior-artexample are discussed below. The angular velocity sensor element of theabove-described configuration is obtained by using wet etching to etchthe composite crystal wafer 2 shown in FIG. 8 and thus obtain theindividual composite tuning fork shaped crystal elements 1 (see FIG. 7).Since the crystal has etching anisotropy, the etching speed is differentin the different crystalline axis directions. Moreover, the etching maskis formed on the composite crystal wafer 2 in this case in such a mannerthat the two crystal wafers 2 a and 2 b in this case are connectedtogether with the X-axis directions thereof oriented in oppositedirections and the right side surface of each completed tuning fork formthe −X face, when the tuning fork shaped crystal elements 1 a and 1 bare viewed in an upright attitude. For that reason, a distinctiveconfiguration is formed in the handle portion of the tuning fork (thelower surface portion of the groove of the tuning fork).

An exploded perspective view of the tuning fork with the tines cut awayis shown in FIG. 11A, to illustrate this distinctive configuration ofthe handle portion of the tuning fork. As is clear from this FIG. 11A, amountain-shaped portion 100 is created where the connective interfaceforms a peak in the handle portion of the tuning fork. The inner sidesurfaces of the root portions of tines 101 and 102 of the tuning forkare connected to the mountain-shaped portion 100. An inclined surface100 a that is the main part of this mountain-shaped portion 100configures a surface that is called the R face of the crystal andsurfaces 100 b and 100 c to the left and right thereof configure r facesof the crystal. This is because the etching speed of the R face isgreater than that of the r faces.

A perspective view of a cutaway through the base portion of the tuningfork and the tine 101 of the tuning fork is shown in FIG. 11B. As isclear from this perspective view, a protruberance 101 a caused byetching anisotropy is created in the side surface of the tine portion ofthe tuning fork that abuts the +X face of the crystal. The ridge line ofthis protruberance 101 a is on the +X face of the tuning fork shapedcrystal elements 1 a and 1 b and is created along the longitudinaldirection of the tine portion of the tuning fork in the vicinity of aboundary 105 at which the tuning fork shaped crystal elements 1 a and 1b are connected. This ridge line crosses the above-describedmountain-shaped portion 100 at a position that is slightly offset fromthe ridge line of the mountain-shaped portion 100.

The above-described physical shape of the handle portion of the tuningfork obstructs the previously mentioned electrical characteristics. Forexample, when the left and right tines of the turning fork resonate,stresses are generated in the vertical direction in the handle portionof the tuning fork. However, since the mountain-shaped portion 100suppresses any change in position in the vertical direction, theresonance of the tuning fork is also suppressed. In other words, theleft and right tines 101 and 102 of the tuning fork are restrainedmechanically by the mountain-shaped portion 100, increasing the load onthe resonance of the tuning fork. This increases the CI.

In addition, since stress concentrations can easily occur in thevicinity of an intersection P between the ridge line of theprotruberance 101 a and the mountain-shaped portion 100 (see FIG. 11B)when the tines of the tuning fork are resonating, this could causeproblems such as cracks when the electrical power applied to the tuningfork is increased. This is a cause of deterioration in the drive levelcharacteristics.

In particular, when the amplitude level is low in an angular velocitysensor that is designed to maintain a fixed amplitude level for thetuning fork resonance by the AGC circuit provided with the monitorterminal of the above-described configuration, there is an increase inthe electrical power that automatically drives the amplitude to beconstant. This can easily cause damage to the tuning fork shaped crystaloscillator. (See Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-188922,hereinafter referred to as Reference Document 1)

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the present invention is to provide a tuning fork shapedoscillator, an angular velocity sensor element, and an angular velocitysensor with improved electrical capabilities such as breaking strengthwith respect to CI and drive power, CI stability, and frequencystability, together with a method of fabricating the same.

The present invention draws attention to a configuration in which thetuning-fork groove disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open PublicationNo. 2002-188922 is V-shaped. In other words, it concentrates on aconfiguration in which the left side of the direction that is orthogonalto the direction in which tine portions of the tuning fork extend from atuning-fork base portion is taken to be the −X-axis direction of thetuning fork shaped crystal element on the front surface thereof. Inother words, this is a configuration in which each of the two tuningfork shaped crystal elements is oriented before the direct bonding insuch a manner that the +X face of the crystal that is orthogonal to the+X-axis direction is the right side surface of the tuning fork shapedcrystal element when viewed in a standing state.

The present inventors have also discovered that tuning fork shapedcrystal elements of such a configuration ensure that the handle portionof the tuning fork is not the asymmetrical V-shape that is seen when thecrystal is a single plate, but is s symmetrical V-shape.

The present invention relates to a configuration in which two tuningfork shaped crystal elements that have been formed by wet etching duringthe process of forming the external shape of a tuning fork, in such amanner that the longitudinal direction of the tuning fork is aligned onthe Y-axis of the crystalline axes (XYZ) and also the lateral directionthereof is aligned on the X-axis, are bonded together with the ±X-axisdirections thereof oriented in opposite directions; and the right sidesurface of each of the two tuning fork shaped crystal elements is the +Xface of the crystal when the two tuning fork shaped crystal elements areviewed in an upright attitude.

In the tuning fork shaped crystal oscillator of the present invention,two tine portions of the tuning fork extend out from a tuning-fork baseportion, the handle portion of the tuning fork has a laterallysymmetrical V-shaped groove, and the inclined portions of the V-shapedgroove have a ridge line along the center thereof and a sectionalsurface that forms a triangle.

Alternatively, the tuning fork shaped crystal oscillator of the presentinvention, two tine portions of the tuning fork extend out from atuning-fork base portion, the handle portion of the tuning fork has alaterally symmetrical U-shaped groove, and the inclined portions of theU-shaped groove have a ridge line along the center thereof and asectional surface that forms a triangle.

With the present invention, left and right surfaces of the ridge line ofthe inclined portions are R faces of the crystal.

A tuning fork shaped crystal oscillator in accordance with the presentinvention configures an angular velocity sensor element that is providedwith a drive electrode for exciting the tuning fork into resonance and asensor electrode for detecting electrical charge due to the Coriolisforce.

The present invention configures an angular velocity sensor that isprovided with an angular velocity sensor element; an oscillation circuitfor exciting the tuning fork of the angular velocity sensor element intoresonance; and a synchronization detection circuit for detectingelectrical charge from a sensor electrode of the tuning fork shapedcrystal oscillator.

A method of fabricating a tuning fork shaped crystal oscillator inaccordance with the present invention comprises the steps of: forming acomposite crystal wafer by direct bonding of two Z-cut crystal waferswith the X-axes thereof oriented in opposite directions; forming anetching mask for the formation of a large number of composite tuningfork shaped crystal elements on the front and rear surfaces of thecomposite crystal wafer, with the lateral direction of the compositetuning fork shaped crystal element oriented along the X-axis and thelongitudinal direction thereof oriented along the Y-axis; andselectively etching the composite crystal wafer on which the etchingmask is formed by wet etching, to form the composite tuning fork shapedcrystal elements; wherein the tuning fork shaped crystal elements on thefront and rear surfaces of the composite tuning fork shaped crystalelement are formed during the formation of the etching mask on the frontand rear surfaces of the composite crystal wafer, in such a manner thatthe right side direction of each of the tuning fork shaped crystalelement when viewed from the front surface in an upright attitude isaligned on the +X direction of the crystal.

The present invention ensures that, when the two tuning fork shapedcrystal elements are viewed in an upright attitude before the directbonding, each of the two tuning fork shaped crystal elements is orientedin such a manner that the +X face of the crystal that is orthogonal tothe +X-axis direction forms the right side surface of that tuning forkshaped crystal element, and thus the outer shape formed by the wetetching is either V-shaped or U-shaped depending on the amount ofprocessing during the etching, as shown by way of example in ReferenceDocument 1.

The results of observations made by the present inventors show that thehandle portion of the tuning fork is not asymmetrical but has alaterally symmetrical V-shape or U-shape. The handle portion of thetuning fork is therefore of a shape that approximates that of a tuningfork. This ensures that the load thereon due to the resonance of thetuning fork is reduced, thus reducing the CI. Concomitant therewith, theresults of experiments performed by the present inventors make it clearthat the CI and drive power are reduced and the electrical capabilitiessuch as breaking strength, frequency stability, and CI stability areimproved.

In accordance with the present invention, the handle portion of thetuning fork is assumed to be V-shaped or U-shaped. The CI is thereforereduced, thus improving the electrical characteristics thereof reliably.It is further clear that the present invention provides a specificconfiguration in which both surfaces of the triangle formed by thecross-sectional surface of the V-shaped groove or U-shaped groove are Rfaces of the crystal.

Since the tuning fork shaped crystal oscillator of the present inventionforms an angular velocity sensor element that is provided with a driveelectrode for exciting the tuning fork into resonance and a sensorelectrode for detecting electrical charge due to the Coriolis force, anangular velocity sensor element with excellent electrical capabilitiescan be obtained thereby.

Since an angular velocity sensor in accordance with the presentinvention can be configured of this angular velocity sensor element, anoscillation circuit for driving the tuning fork of the angular velocitysensor element in resonance, and a synchronization detection circuit fordetecting electrical charge from a sensor electrode of the tuning forkshaped crystal oscillator, a high-performance angular velocity sensorcan be obtained thereby.

Since the fabrication method in accordance with the present inventionensures that the etching mask is formed on the front and rear surfacesof the composite crystal wafer in such a manner that the right-handdirection of each tuning fork shaped crystal element on the front andrear of each composite tuning fork shaped crystal element is oriented inthe −X direction of the crystal, when viewed from the front surface inan upright attitude, thus making it possible to obtain a V-shaped orU-shaped tuning fork shaped oscillator after the wet etching wherein thehandle portion of the tuning fork has a symmetrical configuration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodying example of an angularvelocity sensor element in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodying example of a compositecrystal wafer in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is illustrative of an embodying example of the angular velocitysensor element of the present invention, with FIG. 3A being an explodedperspective view with one tine of the tuning fork cut away and FIG. 3Bbeing a front view thereof;

FIG. 4 is a front view of an angular velocity sensor element used inexperiments on an embodying example of the present invention;

FIG. 5 shows the characteristics of drive power vs. CI, to illustratethe operational effect of the present invention, with FIG. 5A showingthe characteristic of drive power vs. impedance for products inaccordance with the present invention and FIG. 5B showing thecharacteristic of drive power vs. impedance for prior-art products;

FIG. 6 shows the characteristics of drive power vs. frequency changeratio, to illustrate the operational effect of the present invention,with FIG. 6A showing that of the products in accordance with the presentinvention and FIG. 6B showing that of the prior-art products;

FIG. 7 is illustrative of a prior-art example of an angular velocitysensor element;

FIG. 8 is illustrative of a prior-art example of a method of fabricatinga composite crystal wafer;

FIG. 9 is a linkage diagram of the prior-art example of the angularvelocity sensor element;

FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram of the prior-art example of theangular velocity sensor; and

FIG. 11 is illustrative of the prior-art example of the angular velocitysensor element, with FIG. 11A being an exploded perspective view withthe tines of the tuning fork cut away and FIG. 11B being a perspectiveview of one tine of the tuning fork.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An embodying example of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,with FIG. 1 being a perspective view of an angular velocity sensorelement in accordance with the present invention and FIG. 2 being aperspective view of a composite crystal wafer.

In the construction of the angular velocity sensor element of thepresent invention, two Z-cut crystal wafers 2 a and 2 b are first bondedtogether directly (not necessarily by using an adhesive; they could alsobe bonded by turning the bond surfaces into mirror surfaces), with the±X-axis directions thereof oriented in opposite directions, to form acomposite crystal wafer 2 as shown in FIG. 2. An etching mask is thenformed by a photographic printing technique on each of the front andrear surfaces of the composite crystal wafer 2, for the formation of alarge number of composite tuning fork shaped crystal elements 1.

During this process, the etching masks 3 are formed in such a mannerthat the lateral dimension of each of the composite tuning fork shapedcrystal elements 1 that will be formed as shown in FIG. 1 is arrayedalong the X-axis and the longitudinal direction thereof is arrayed inthe Y-axis. In addition, when tuning fork shaped crystal elements 1 aand 1 b at the front and rear of the composite tuning fork shapedcrystal element 1 are viewed in an upright attitude, the configurationis such that the right-hand direction of each is arrayed in the X-axisdirection (the right side surface thereof is the +X face).

The composite crystal wafer 2 is then selectively etched by wet etching,to obtain a large number of the composite tuning fork shaped crystalelements 1. It should be noted, however, that neighboring compositetuning fork shaped crystal elements 1 are still linked in an integralform at this point. After drive electrodes, sensor electrodes, andmonitor electrodes (not shown in the figures) have been formed thereonby similar wet etching, individual angular velocity sensor elements areobtained (see FIG. 1). Terminals retained by the base portion of thetuning fork of each of these angular velocity sensor elements are drawnout and enclosed in a sealed vessel (not shown in the figures).

In this angular velocity sensor element, the right-hand direction ofeach individually separated composite tuning fork shaped crystal element1 is aligned in the +X-axis direction of the crystal, when the tuningfork shaped crystal elements 1 a and 1 b on the front and rear of thecomposite tuning fork shaped crystal element 1 are viewed in an uprightattitude, in other words, the +X face of the crystal forms the rightside surface thereof. That is to say, two tuning fork shaped crystalelements 1 a and 1 b of the composite tuning fork shaped crystal element1 are bonded together with the ±X-axis directions thereof oriented inopposite directions, with the +X face of each forming the right sidesurface thereof when the tuning fork shaped crystal elements 1 a and 1 bare viewed in an upright attitude.

The exploded perspective view shown in FIG. 3A is of the compositetuning fork shaped crystal element 1 with the tines of the tuning forkcut away to illustrate the handle portion of the tuning fork inparticular, and a front view thereof is shown in FIG. 3B. As is clearfrom FIGS. 3A and 3B, the handle portion of the tuning fork is formedinto a laterally symmetrical V shape (a V-shaped groove), as seen fromthe front thereof. The left and right inclined portions of this V-shapedgroove are inclined portions having a ridge line in the center thereofand a sectional surface that forms a triangle. Each surface of each ofthese inclined portions is an R face of the crystal. Moreover, theintersection P that causes problems in the prior art (see the previouslymentioned FIG. 11B) is not formed in the configuration of the presentinvention.

The present invention is described further below, with reference to theresults of experiments performed by the present inventors. In this case,the composite tuning fork shaped crystal element 1 has a shape that is acombination of two tine portions of a tuning fork on a tuning-fork baseportion of a width that is wide enough for the two tine portions of thetuning fork with a space therebetween, as shown in FIG. 4. Eachcomposite tuning fork shaped crystal element 1 is formed to the samedimensions. In addition, the previously-described drive and sensorelectrodes are formed thereon, then experiments were performed tocompare the electrical characteristics of the product in accordance withthe present invention and a prior-art product (having the handle portionof the tuning fork as described with reference to FIG. 11) when thetuning fork thereof was driven to resonate.

Characteristics of impedance with respect to drive power are shown inFIGS. 5A and 5B and characteristics of frequency change ratio withrespect to drive power are shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, where FIGS. 5A and6A concern the product in accordance with the present invention andFIGS. 5B and 6B concern a prior-art product. Note that there were fivetest products in each set of experiments and the resonance frequency was17 kHz.

First of all, a comparison is done of the breaking strength with respectto drive power of the product in accordance with the present inventionand the prior-art product, with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B. In thiscase, the drive power that limited the breaking strength of the productin accordance with the present invention is 72.9, 104.3, 91.8, 75.9, and74.4 μW, giving an average of 83.9 μW, and that of the prior-art productis 12.6, 22.6, 27.6, 14.1, and 27.6 μW, giving an average of 20.9 μW.The breaking strength of the product in accordance with the presentinvention is therefore improved to approximately four times that of theprior-art product. Note that the limit on the breaking strength in thiscase is a drive power that cannot be measured; it means the limit atwhich the angular velocity sensor element becomes damaged or theresonance of the tuning fork loses phase and thus the tuning fork is ina non-resonating state.

In both sets of samples, the CI increased with increasing drive power.In contrast to the product in accordance with the present invention inwhich the change was gradual up until the limit of the breakingstrength, in the prior-art product this change was sudden. It istherefore clear that the stability of the CI with respect to the drivepower is exceptionally better in the product in accordance with thepresent invention than in the prior-art product.

The frequency change ratio with respect to drive power also changed withincreasing drive power in both cases, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B. In asimilar manner to the CI, in contrast to this embodying example of thepresent invention in which the change was gradual up until the limit ofthe breaking strength, in the prior-art product this change was sudden.The drive power that ensures a frequency change ratio Δf/f0 of within 6ppm in this embodying example of the present invention, for example, isapproximately 29.9, 39.4, 39.3, 38.7, and 38.0 μW, giving an average of37.01 μW. For the prior-art product, it is 6.7, 14.3, 11.4, 11.4, and14.0 μW, giving an average of 11.6 μW. The product in accordance withthe present invention therefore has an electrical power endurance thatis at least three times that of the prior-art product.

Finally, CI is compared, with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B. The CI ofthe product in accordance with the present invention in the vicinity of3 μW is 934, 895, 900, 903, and 915 kΩ, giving an average of 909 kΩ, andthe CI of the prior-art product is 1037, 950, 956, 975, and 969 kΩ,giving an average of 977 kΩ. It can therefore be appreciated that theproduct in accordance with the present invention has a CI that isimproved by approximately 7% in comparison with the prior-art product.

It is also clear from the results of experiments relating to the presentinvention that the product in accordance with the present invention hasconsiderably improved electrical capabilities such as breaking strength,CI stability, and frequency stability with respect to drive power, incomparison with the prior-art product. These results are obtained bybonding the tuning fork shaped crystal elements 1 a and 1 b togetherwith the right side surfaces thereof forming +X faces and the ±X-axisdirections thereof oriented in opposite directions. In other words, whenwet etching is performed in those axial directions, the handle portionof the tuning fork develops a laterally symmetrical V-shape. The handleportion of the tuning fork therefore approaches the ideal shape for atuning fork, so that load thereon is reduced and the resonance of thetuning fork is smooth. These are factors that lead to the improvementsin the electrical characteristics relating to CI and drive power. Whenthe previously-described angular velocity sensor is configured, thequality thereof is superior.

In the above-described embodying example of the present invention, thehandle portion of the tuning fork was V-shaped but it could equally wellbe U-shaped. The effects of the present invention can be achieved byslightly changing factors such as the shape of the etching mask and theetching time, provided the resultant shape is symmetrically V-shaped orU-shaped. In addition, lateral symmetry does not mean symmetry from astrictly geometrical viewpoint, but effective symmetry. In other words,it is the symmetry obtained by orienting the ±X-axis directions of thetuning fork shaped crystal elements so as to face in oppositedirections, with the right side surface thereof being the +X face wheneach tuning fork shaped crystal element is viewed in an uprightattitude, then directly bonding together the tuning fork shaped crystalelements. In addition, although the description above related to anangular velocity sensor element, the present invention can also beapplied to cases in which it is used as an ordinary tuning fork shapedoscillator.

The shape of each composite tuning fork shaped crystal element has beendefined by experiments performed by the present inventors, where thetine portions of the tuning fork are connected to a tuning-fork baseportion that is wide enough for the two tine portions of the tuning forkand also a space therebetween. Since the thus-configured shape ensuresthat the resultant tuning fork has inclined portions to the left andright of the two tine portions of the tuning fork (inclined portionshaving a ridge line therebetween and configured of R faces of thecrystal on either side of that ridge line), the resistance to electricalpower thereof is further improved. However, it should be noted that thepresent invention would of course be effective for a tuning fork of asimple tuning-fork shape as seen in plan view in FIG. 1. The effects ofthe present invention can also be achieved, even with the handle portionof a tuning fork that has such a simple tuning-fork shape.

1. A tuning fork shaped crystal oscillator, wherein two tuning forkshaped crystal elements formed by wet etching during formation of theexternal shape of a tuning fork, in such a manner that the longitudinaldirection of the tuning fork is aligned on the Y-axis of the crystallineaxes (XYZ) and the lateral direction thereof is aligned on the X-axis,are bonded together with the ±X-axis directions thereof oriented inopposite directions; the right side surface of each of said two tuningfork shaped crystal elements being the +X face of the crystal when saidtwo tuning fork shaped crystal elements are viewed in an uprightorientation from each Z-axis direction. 2-5. (canceled)
 6. The tuningfork shaped crystal oscillator as defined by claim 1, wherein saidtuning fork shaped crystal oscillator is provided with a drive electrodefor exciting the tuning fork into resonance and a sensor electrode fordetecting electrical charge due to the Coriolis force and functions asan angular velocity sensor element. 7-9. (canceled)
 10. The tuning forkshaped crystal oscillator as defined by claim 6, further comprising anoscillation circuit for exciting the tuning fork of said angularvelocity sensor element into resonance, and a synchronization detectioncircuit for detecting electrical charge from a sensor electrode of saidtuning fork shaped crystal oscillator.
 11. (canceled)